Net-pulling machine



Jul 10, 1923. 1,461,141

- W. F. DEPEW NET PULLING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M1? DEPEM 2 Wil f 4: tys.

July 10, 1923. 1,461,141

w. F. DEPEW- NET PULLING MACHINE Filed April 15 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 7 49/ 35 3 IF' i111 i .5 M645 7 1 y 42389 5.

v Net-Pulling Patented July 10, 1923.

WILLIAM FREDERICK DEPEW, OF BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA.

NET-PULLING MACHINE.

Application filed April 13, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F minnnion Dnrnw, a subject of the King of Great Britaim, and a resident of the town of Bowmanville, in the county of Durham, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines, of which the following is the specification.

' My invention relates to improvements in net pulling machines and the object of the invention is to devise in a machine for pulling fish nets inboard means for preventing the slacking of the net between the water and the gripping drum due to the rise and fall of the waves so that the net is always pulled in against even tension producing an even draw resulting in less wear and tear to the net and it consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as hereinafter more particularly explained by the following specification.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a boat showing my net pulling device located there in and a net applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my net pulling device.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of my net pulling device taken immediately in front of the driving motor, the motor shaft being shown in section.

Fig. 4: is a detail view in elevation of the main supporting stud shaft and. tubular driving shaft and parts carried thereby.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view through the gripping drum of my device.

Fig. 6 is a further enlarged plan view of my gripping drum showing the top cover plate partially broken away.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional plan view on line 77, Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a detail of one of the movable gripping jaws.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail of the gripping drum.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

1 indicates a portion of a boat. 2 is a base frame construction secured in the bottom of the boat and comprising cross bars 3 and 4: and longitudinally extending bars 5 and 6 extending from the cross bar 3 towards the cross bar 4. 7 is a driving motor, 8 the motor shaft supported in bearings 9 and 10 carried by the frame structure 2.

Serial No. 552,247.

15 is a sprocket gear secured to the motor shaft 8. 10 is a countershaft located in the centre of the boat and j ournalled in bearings 11 and 12. 13 is a sprocket gear secured to the countershaft and connected by a sprocket chain 14; to the sprocket gear 15. The opposite end of the countershaft 10 is provided with a bevel gear 16. 17 is a vertical stud shaft extending from the bearing 12 which forms the base thereof and by which it is secured to a cross bar 18 in the bottom of the boat. 19 is a tubular shaft mounted to rotate on the stud shaft 17 and provided at its lower end with a bevel gear 20 meshing with the gear 16 of the countershaft. 21 is a sleeve which is set screwed to the tubular shaft 19 in proximity to the upper end thereof and provided with lugs 22 having perforations 23.

24 is a circumferential slot formed in the tubular shaft 19 adjacent to the upper end of the shaft. 25 is a gripping drum comprising an upper cylindrical portion 26 and lower cylindrical portion 27 slightly small er in diameter, the portions 26 and 27 being connected together by an intermediate wall. 28 having a central orifice 29. 30 are a series of projecting fingers extending upward from the wall 28 and arranged circumferentially therearound. 31 is a cover plate which is secured to the upper end of such projections, such cover plate being provided with circumferential series of orifices 32.

The upper edge of the portion 27 is serrated so as to form the stationary annular portion of the net gripping device. 33 are the movable jaws of the net gripping device provided in their opposite vertical edges with vertical grooves 34% and 35 fitting the opposing vertical edges of two adjacent fingers 30 between which the movable jaw has vertical movement. Each movable jaw 33 is provided with an upwardly extending rot like projection 36 each rod projection extending through an orifice 32 and provided with a surrounding coil spring 37 extending between the upper end of the movable jaw members 30 and the lower face of the cover plate 31.

38 is a cam plate which is secured to the stud shaft 17 so as to remain in a stationary position, The cam plate 38 is provided with a circumferential cam rib 39 coacting with rollers 10 carried by the movable jaw members 33.

As will be clearly seen from Fig. 6 the cam rib extends only a partial distance around the gripping drum leaving an intervening space between the ends of the ribs for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

The ends of the ribs are inclined as indicated at 41 and 42. 43 are loop connectors secured to the inner periphery of the lower cylindrical portion 27 of the gripping drum 25. 44 are tension springs secured at one end to the lugs 22 and at the opposite end to the loop connectors 43. 45 is an annular iiangedependi-ng centrally from the wall 28 into which the upper end of the tubular shaft 19 extends so that the circumferential slot 24 is located intermediately of the height of the flange 45.

46 is a set screw extending through the flange 45 into the circumferential slot 24. 47 is an elbow which is secured to the upper end of the stud shaft 17. 48 is a tubular rod secured at one end in the elbow 47 so as to extend horizontally in a radial direction from the centre of the gripping drum being provided at its outer end with an el bow 49 from which depends a rod 50 carrying a brush 51 designedto have a sweeping contact with the outer periphery of the drum in horizontal alignment with the gripping space between the stationary and movable gripping jaws of the gripping drum. 52 is an idler roller mounted upon a stud shaft 53 secured in the boat. 54 is a fish net having an edge line 55.

Having described the principal parts involved in my invention I will briefly describe the operation of the same.

In the edge of the fish net is threaded a line \Vhen it is desired to haul the net inboard the end of the fish net is passed around an idler roller 52- and around the drum 25. The end portion of the line 55 is inserted so as to be gripped by the jaws 33 and the gripping edge of the drum 25 in the position indicated in Figure 5, the movable jaws 33 being held in the open position by the roller 40 bearing upon the edge of the operating cam 39. The gripping drum is revolved being driven by the motor 7 through the gear 15 sprocket chain 14, sprocket gear 13, countershaft 10. bevel gear 16, bevel gear 20, tubular shaft 19, sleeve 21 secured to the shaft 19, the lugs 22 of the sleeve 21 andsprings 44 connected at one end to the lugs 22 and at the other end to the drum 25. A pull is then exerted from the tubular shaft 19 revolving in the direction of arrow upon the springs 44 drawing such springs into tension and into the. position shown by dotted lines in Figure 7 as 'indicated at B.

hen the bow of the boat rises upon a wave above the normal height the tendency is to stretch the springs 44 to a greater extent. l/Vhen the bow of the boat lowers as the wave falls the drum is revolved in a counter clockwise direction by the contraction of the springs 44, that is torsay, during this movement of the boat bow line of the fish net becomes slackened relieving the drum of the strain of the line thereon and permitting it to rotate by the tension of the springs so as to-take .up such slack as it is formed.

It will thus be seen that a steady even pull is exerted upon the fish net entirely compensating for the movement of the boat.

\Vhen the net is carried outboard the tubular shaft is carried in the opposite direction to arrow 0 drawing the springs 44 into a position indicated by dotted lines at A. such springs also expanding and contracting in this position with the rise and fall of the waves.

Just before the lineis carried to a point indicated by the letter A in Fig. 1 the gripping jaws open up to release the line.

It has been found that there is a tendency for the line to stick between the jaws. This danger is obviated by means of the brush 51 which sweeps the line out of the open jaws thereby preventing any danger of the net wrapping around the drum.

From this description it will be seen that I have devised a very simple device whereby in a net pulling mechanism the line will always be drawn in under even tension obviating any tendency to repeatedly jerk the line as the waves rise and fall and thereby increase the wear and tear thereon and at the same time I have provided simple means whereby the removal of the released line from between the gripping jaws is assured.

\Vhat-I claim as my invention is:

In a net pulling machine, the combination with a gripping drum having peripheral means for gripping the edge line of the net, of a driving shaft having a circumferential slotted end upon which the drum is mounted, a projection extending into theslot from said drum, and springs connected at one end to the driving shaft and at the opposite end to the drum to form a yieldable driving connection between the shaft and the drum when the shaft is rotated.

WILLIAM FREDERICK DEPEW. 

